Footprints in the Wilderness

The Book of Numbers emphasizes the Divine value of human life; and, therefore, requires responsibility and accountability. This is best explained by the numbering and the numbering again of the Children of Israel, and its emphasis on Social Justice, as seen in the allotment of the Promised Inheritance to each family of Israel. The Land Allotment was not only remarkable in meeting the material needs of each family, but also by setting the Universal Norm of Social Justice, by providing for the outcasts of society as revealed by the Cities of Refuge. Equally, the Book of Numbers complements the Books of Exodus and Leviticus, by designating the offerings of Atonement to specific times and memorials, and by calling the Priesthood to purification. This is the palpable evidence that, like the books of Exodus and Leviticus, Numbers declares the Dine Message of Holiness. There is not such thing as a choice of escape from holiness; it is the only means of securing a place in God's Eternal Kingdom.